Leaders who are backed by self-managed, collaborative, supportive, efficient teams are usually the most successful.
However, building an effective team with these qualities doesn’t just happen overnight. This require an investment of time, effort, and motivation.
There are four steps that lead to a high-performing team. Building trust is imperative; it is step one. Leaders need to trust their teams. Teams need to trust their leaders. Teammates need to trust one another.
How do you build trust? Team building and leadership training. These things take time and money – and are well worth the investment. But before we get into how to build trust, we first need to understand why building trust matters.
3 Common Pitfalls that Lead to a Lack of Trust
Building trust is the foundation for any successful team. When people feel safe and respected, their creativity flows effortlessly and they are more likely to go out on a limb when asked to solve new problems.
There are three common pitfalls that accompany a lack of trust.
- Invulnerability
- Lack of visibility
- Missing value
Building trust takes time and effort, so we broke the trust-building process into three steps. Taking these three steps will get you and your team on your way to building the trust that will take you to the next level.
We also published a Team Action Plan that includes this information, along with helpful ideas for each step.
[ Download the Team Action Plan here. ]
Step 1: Vulnerability
Trust takes time to develop, and leaders, it starts with you!
In high-functioning teams, trust is the ability to be vulnerable with each other while having the confidence that it won’t be used against you.
Leaders who can admit their weaknesses will give their teams the confidence to do the same. It may even result in helping team members feel comfortable sharing their lesser-known talents.
Step 2: Visibility
Trust grows when we see each other as actual people with interesting stories, backgrounds, and shared experiences.
Finding these personal connections with your team helps develop relationships, which in turn will help increase productivity. That’s why it’s important to create opportunities to learn about your team on a personal level.
Step 3: Value
When we understand the roles each person on the team plays, they rise in our esteem and in our level of trust.
Often we are so focused on our own tasks and contributions that we miss how much our team can accomplish when we work together. Missing the value of the team and/or teammates can be costly whereas recognizing and trusting their value can lead to truly great things.
The Next Step for Building Your Team
By now, you understand the importance of building trust with and among your team – but you may still have questions like:
- How do I fit this in when I am already so busy?
- How do I know if I’m putting my trust in the right people?
- How can I improve my communication with my team?
- How can I get everyone on my team on the same page?
I can help! As the founder and CEO of Free Range Thinking, a boutique business consultancy, I help creatives and executives develop their leadership style, build their team, and bring their vision to life.
Schedule a call with me, so I can help you better understand your leadership style. Then, you can use your leadership superpowers to get better results.
A high-performing, self-managed team goes hand in hand with great leadership. I can help you get there!
Want more tips on building a self-managed team?
Take this Quiz – and find out the best way to get started to make your team collaborate and perform better!
